CHICOPEE - Julio Rosa, a 29-year-old homeless man who allegedly attempted to rob a soft-serve ice cream stand in the Willimansett neighborhood with a sawed-off shotgun early Monday afternoon, was ordered held in lieu of $25,000 cash bail or $250,000 surety following his arraignment in District Court.

Bystanders disarmed Rosa and held him at bay with his own shot-gun after he attempted to rob Roger’s Place, a popular ice cream stand in the Willimansett neighborhood, Police Capt. Steven Muise said.

incident began shortly before 1 p.m. when a witness saw the suspect outside the nearby Sunoco station with a sawed-off shotgun stashed under his coat.

Fearing that the suspect was poised to rob the station, the witness told the suspect to “get lost” and then watched him walk away towards Roger’s Place, at 1016 Chicopee St., Muise said.

The witness then went over to the ice cream stand with his nephew and saw the suspect pull out the shotgun in an apparent move to rob the place, Muise said.

The witness, fast-becoming an active participant in the unfolding story, rushed the suspect from behind and grabbed his arms so he couldn’t use the shotgun, Muise said.

Two others then jumped on top of the suspect, grabbed the shotgun and held him at bay with it until police arrived.

Muise said the female employee at the stand hadn’t realized what happened until she heard somebody yell for her to “call the cops,” looked out and saw the suspect on the ground with the shotgun in his face.

Julio Rosa was charged with possessing a firearm without a license, causing a disturbance while carrying a dangerous weapon and attempting to commit a crime.

Rosa denied charges of possessing a firearm without an license, causing a disturbance while carrying a dangerous weapon, furnishing a false name or Social Security number to police and attempting to commit a crime. A pre-trial hearing was set for June 11.